Sinclair Community College received the StormReady Certification from the National Weather Service on October 19. Sinclair is th eonly community college to receive this certification in the tri-state area and one of ten in the entire country.

To help Americans protect against the damages of severe weather, the National Weather Service (NWS) has designed the StormReady program to help improve America's communities with the communication skills they need to save lives and protect property.

Nearly 90% of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related. The StormReady approach encourages colleges and universities as well as communities to take a proactive approach to improving hazardous weather warnings. Conditions such as tornados, floods and winter storms are just a few of the weather conditions that result in over 500 deaths per year, as well as $14 billion in damage.

"Being designated as a StormReady college by the National Weather Service is a sign that Sinclair is improving our communication and preparedness as a community," said Sinclair President Steve Johnson. "Being the only community college in Ohio with this designation strengthens Sinclair as a whole and ultimately shows how hard our team works to help keep students, faculty and staff at Sinclair stay safe on campus."

As a StormReady college, Sinclair upgraded their emergency preparedness options to meet StormReady program guidelines. Along with the police force, Sinclair's facilities management and marketing departments have played a crucial role in getting the college StormReady.

The benefits of being a StormReady Community include:

Improves the timeline and effectiveness of hazardous weather warnings for the public.

Provides detailed and clear recommendations which will help local emergency managers establish and improve effective hazardous weather operations.

Rewards local hazardous weather mitigation programs that have achieved a desired performance level.

Provides an image incentive to communities, which once recognized, can identify themselves as being StormReady.

StormReady can help ensure your community is prepared for other civil emergencies.

For more information, contact Adam Murka at 937-512-2947 or adam.murka@sinclair.edu.